Southwest Airlines plans nonstop routes from Dallas to 15 cities

Southwest Airlines jets wait on the tarmac at Denver International Airport in Denver January 22, 2014.

Reuters/Rick Wilking

Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said on Monday it will offer nonstop flights from its base at Dallas Love Field, Texas, to 15 cities including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles later this year, after the expiry of flight restrictions from that airport.

The carrier plans to fly nonstop to Baltimore, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Florida, and Chicago Midway from October 13. Service to Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York LaGuardia, Phoenix and other U.S. cities will begin November 2.

The Wright Amendment, a federal law introduced in the late 1970s, restricts nonstop flights that Southwest can operate out of Dallas Love Field to nine states. Southwest said the October expiration of the law will allow direct flights from Love Field to 41 more states and the District of Columbia.

The repeal "signifies a turning point for the Southwest brand not just in Dallas, but from coast-to-coast," Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said in a statement.

In recent months, Southwest won takeoff and landing rights at Reagan National Airport near Washington and at New York's LaGuardia that American Airlines Group (AAL.O) is selling under a merger agreement with the U.S. government. Those rights will allow it to expand flights to other U.S. cities.